As the 1960s grew to a close, Hollywood, caught between new breed filmmakers and still-contracted anachronistic practitioners, struggled to survive. The celluloid capital, as the old war horses knew it, was, however going dark. Sherry Jackson, who had already been in the Biz for nearly twenty years, was likewise entering a dark phase of her career (albeit it a brief one, as she would flourish on TV throughout the 1970s). How ironic that the project that ignited her kiss-off to the Sixties was in and of itself a contradictory big screen movie inspired from a 1950s tele-series – a Technicolor noir of modern L.A. It was 1967's Gunn – based on the exploits of Peter Gunn – splattered into a sexually-confused psychedelic palette whose emerging target audience knew little and cared less about a detective who solved crimes when they were in their playpens. In terms of counter-culture, two years in the 1960s were the equal of fifteen in any other era – it was a period where Viva Las Vegas was playing down the street from A Hard Day's Night...when movies vainly tried to cash in on fads that were over before the film returned from the lab...The fact that Gunn is a freakin' great unfairly forgotten gem is yet another testament to the quicksilver blink-and-you'll-miss-it generation.
To get a better handle on those lightning-in-a-bottle years, the movie and Sherry Jackson's part in all of the above, one must briefly examine the background of Gunn's creator, the controversial hot and cold director Blake Edwards.
Edwards (1922-2010), heir to Hollywood royalty of sorts (his step-father's father was silent screen director J. Gordon Edwards), is a difficult and (here's that word again) contradictory figure (depending upon whom you ask) – both loved and hated. His output likewise has been lionized as brilliantly inventive and criticized as incredibly juvenile. Personally, I enjoy many of his movies – usually the more obscure ones, like 1957's Mister Corey and the movie Ms. Jackson so prominently appeared in, Gunn; in fact, I'll go as far as to say that Gunn is one of my favorite Blake Edwards pictures – perhaps his most underrated. Edwards began as an actor before hooking up with rising (and shamefully neglected) director Richard Quine (who also started out acting). They co-wrote little pictures that got noticed; Edwards has been attacked for lifting much of Quine's style, but also for attaching himself to more important movie folk, then leaving them in the dirt. Tony Curtis, who helped get the director the phenomenally successful Operation Petticoat, was the next victim to be tossed aside; then came Peter Sellers. By Edwards' own words the best experience he ever had was “working with Peter Sellers.” And the worst: “...working with Peter Sellers.” Their acrimonious split in the mid-1960s resulted in the director arranging his nest egg production, the gargantuan slapstick period piece The Great Race. It always stuns me when supposedly savvy picture folk align themselves with a major studio in a profit-sharing participation deal, as this usually is just a nice way of saying, “We're going to be screwed.” To make an arrangement where the studio reaps the gravy after recouping the cost before turning profits over to four equally-partnered production companies (Edwards and the three top stars, Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Natalie Wood) was tantamount to a death wish. Worse – the studio they chose was Warner Bros., the most infamous of the don't-turn-your-back-on-us fun factories. While each studio had two sets of accounting books (to prove that every picture they made lost money), Warners had an Encyclopedia Britannica (as late as the early 2000s, Curtis still swore that he had yet to see a dime from The Great Race, generally acknowledged to have been an international hit).
Edwards went directly into What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, which promptly bellied-up. Rumors swiftly spread that the one-time wunderkind now needed Peter Sellers if he were ever to reclaim his foothold as a serious player.
Edwards sprinted over to Paramount, for whom he had previously made Breakfast at Tiffany's, a considerable box-office champ in 1961. And here he laid out his plan: to use Peter Gunn, a character he owned, in an up-to-date sexy adventure that smacked of James Bond, but also was exclusively American...a classic private eye hipster who could party alongside of the likes of Harper, a 1966 smash starring Paul Newman. It would be done quickly and cheaply. Paramount unenthusiastically agreed, but did little to promote the picture, which they (incorrectly) saw as no more than a jazzed-up antique. They threw it directly to the nabes, where it played during the summer of '67 for about a week. Then it vanished – surfacing only intermittently for late night TV screenings during the subsequent two decades.
Sherry Jackson's initial meeting with Edwards and how she scored her key role in Gunn was documented in the last article. But, as we so often discover, things are never as easy as they appear...
That lunchtime episode at Paramount [see the previous installment of this interview] wasn’t a complete signed, sealed and delivered sort of thing. I had three additional interviews with Blake –ostensibly to see if we would hit it off. So I went up to his house, met his then soon-to-be-wife [Julie Andrews], played pool, generally hang out with him and his family…and THEN I got the part. But I sweetened the pot, so to speak. My friend who got me into the Director’s Room that first meeting day knew that Blake was a “fanny man.” I had this pants suit – black with a pinstripe bottom…very conservative - and the matching jacket came just above my butt. Blake loved to play pool (he had a pool table on the set at all times). So, while at his house, in that outfit, I’m putting one leg up on the table to make certain shots, bending wayyyy over to make others…What can I say? The Devil made me do it, but I sealed the deal!
The shooting schedule on Gunn was somewhere between six weeks and two months. There was some pressure because they had already replaced a key character and had a lot of catch-up to do. We did my entire initial scene in one afternoon – in fact, it was my first day on the picture…almost five pages of script…I think about it now – it’s quite amazing…really almost unheard of.
I need to tell you about Philip Lathrop. There are wonderful cameramen who come in and do their job – and it’s perfectly fine. Then, there are GREAT photographers – the ones who go the extra distance. Philip Lathrop is so in that latter category. You’re right when you say Gunn’s a terrific looking movie. I remember arriving on the set wearing this cool pink outfit, and Philip immediately held his hand up. “You can’t wear that – it’s not going to make you look good.” The way he was lighting the picture – his visual interpretation – would make me stick out like a pink ungainly sore thumb. Eyeing my skin tone, he said, “Go for something more subtle – like peach…Women always look better wearing peach.” And we found something else – and he was right. He lit me beautifully – and I have to say again, he didn’t have to do that. So I repeat – a great cinematographer. Growing up with my step-father, watching him work closely with cameramen, I early-on harbored a secret ambition to become a cinematographer myself…I learned to always take them very seriously…Watch, listen, learn…But even more so with directing (which I also wanted to do). Watching Monty [Pittman] was such an education. In the mid-Sixties – it was nearly impossible for a woman to direct in Hollywood. The only name that comes to mind, of course, is Ida Lupino. That was really it. Very frustrating. As far as camerawork goes, I was always talking to the d.p., asking questions, picking their brains. William Fraker, Vilmos Zsigmond, Ted McCord, Archie Stout – WOW – it doesn’t get much better than that.
Overall, as far as Gunn goes, it tanked big time; although I wasn’t that surprised. I really didn’t think much of it back then, but over the years, people constantly ask me about it…how much they liked it and would like to see it again. So I guess I really need to re-evaluate Gunn [as do we all; what a prime candidate for Olive Films to pursue in their DVD deal with Paramount!].
Best memory: Hank Mancini – he was the doll of the planet! Not long after we wrapped, I received a 45 RPM in the mail along with a lovely letter from Hank that began with “Sherry, I thought you would enjoy having this.” He had written a theme for me – appropriately called “Theme for Sam” – and cut a single [it’s also prominent on the Gunn LP]. It really captured me [indeed it does, as the LP Mancini-penned liner notes indicate; read them and think of Sherry: “Jimmy Rowles comes riding into town sporting a funky country and western flavor. The whole track swings restfully – even the final resolution is a relaxed take-off of a typical Basie ending.”]. He was a total sweetheart, so much fun to work with. And such a genius.
I was in very few scenes with the co-stars Laura Devon or Ed Asner so I don’t have too much to say in that department. Most of my on-set memories revolve around Blake Edwards. It’s wild about Blake – I don’t think of him as a Hollywood power director…just sort of a character actor having fun. Blake had a strange sense of humor. He had his stock company crew – always used them on all his pictures. Well one of these regulars was a key lighting technician/grip. He was a veteran in the business. He used to wear those baggy gabardine pants – I’m sure you’ve seen candid on-set publicity shots…so you know what I mean…Well this gentleman had a bladder problem…So Blake used to keep one of those spritzer bottles by his side. It was filled with this liquid that would numb your skin…Right in the middle of a scene, when this poor guy wasn’t looking, Blake would aim it like from six feet away and wet the man’s crotch. So this guy would move, feel the cold on his legs and thought he had lost control. He’d be so humiliated and humbly sneak off. I guess you’d call Blake a cut-up [Why does Mickey Rooney’s appearance in Breakfast at Tiffany’s suddenly make sense?]. Another thing he used to do was to keep a bamboo pole with a feather on the end of it – and while the operator is shooting a scene, he’d start tickling the guy’s ear. On my first day, I was witness to a sample of Blake’s unusual behavior. I’m doing my scene and I notice him crawling towards me on his hands and knees while the camera is rolling. It so unnerved me – I went up on my lines – and actually yelled, “Cut!” He jumps up and starts shouting, “Don’t you EVER do that again!” “But you threw me off – I was stumbling – I mean that’s pretty weird…” “I don’t care if I’m standing on my head without any clothes on – you keep on going.” So I did. From then on, I ignored him. Then after he’d say, “Cut!” we’d play pool on the set. I must say that he did look out for me. Doing the notorious foreign market nude scene – which is total nonsense – it doesn’t really exist…I’m supposed to put my arms around Gunn and my towel drops…So Blake comes up to me and, very fatherly, says, “I just want to pull the camera back a couple of feet when your towel comes down.” He was very gentle and thoughtful about it and made it easier for me…I think he was more nervous that I was! That said, the most you saw – and briefly – was the side of my breast. That was it – the scandalous overseas graphic sequence! Another Hollywood urban legend.
[And thus we must comment on Gunn’s one footnote to fame: the Sherry Jackson Playboy spread tie-in]
The reason I did Playboy was because Paramount knew they needed publicity for the film. On the set, I wore pasties and was wrapped in a towel. The point was that I would look naked all the time.So, suffice to say, they had taken a lot of snapshots. Mind you – I had no approval. Only major stars could demand that – and, frankly, at the time, I didn’t know that was ever an option to begin with…Not that I ever would have gotten it…Later Publicity bombarded me with all these candid shots – very (according to them) erotic…me pulling a bed sheet up around my crotch…Dumb stuff – and totally unappealing…In fact, the most un-erotic pictures you could imagine. I was fairly vocal in my disapproval of them. They told me that these pictures were going to be in Playboy whether I liked it or not. I was a wreck about this. So they came to me with a compromise…I could shoot on a Paramount soundstage for one day with a Playboy photographer and a wardrobe lady – the plus being that I would have first refusal on any photo used. What kind of compromise is that?!! Well, the alternative would be that the lousy snaps would be published without my having any say at all. So I agreed on the proviso that NONE of the first batch would EVER get published ANYWHERE. I had nightmares of these images turning up in some German porno magazine or…something like that. The thought just made my skin crawl. Of course they agreed, but, one did get out – and, ironically, one where you can clearly see me wearing the pasties…so it’s ridiculous! I was going to sue, but it would have ended up turning into a circus – and ultimately making the whole situation worse… Also I had them make it clear that the new photos would be a one-time deal – they would never be printed anywhere again except in that specific issue of Playboy. To put it mildly, it was not a high point in my career – and it certainly brought me a lot of personal unhappiness. I can’t even begin to tell you…It cost me a relationship – the love of my life…and it made my younger brother’s life hell, as he was constantly razzed by his friends…I actually went to my doctor because I was having a nervous breakdown over doing the shoot. I ended up in the hospital for three days…I lost weight, I was a basket case.
Things took an even more dramatic turn after that, courtesy of my idiot agent and my equally challenged manager. I didn’t know this at the time, but I found out later – when it was way too late. After the first day’s dailies of Gunn, these two were approached by a small band of studio executives led by none other than Robert Evans. ROBERT EVANS for God’s sake! I think Mel Shavelson was also there. Well, they were impressed with me and, on the spot offered my representation a three-picture deal. And, on the spot, they turned them down – without even asking me. And the reason was outrageous! They told me they nixed the package because the first picture was to be a property Paramount was developing called Downhill Racer. Forget the fact that I was fanatical about skiing or that the movie was to star Robert Redford – just on the peak of super-stardom. They turned it down because the pre-buzz around the lot was that it was going to be the turkey of all-time…Regardless of the fate of Downhill Racer – it would have looked impressive on my resume. Once Gunn was finally released and came and went (it played less than a week in many venues), Paramount’s interest in me instantly waned. Not too long after that, my mother comes to me – uncharacteristically sheepish and quiet. She had been making all my investments, and as soon as I saw her, I knew something was wrong. “What’s up?” “Ummm, I don’t know how to say this – your money…” “Come on, mom, cut to the chase.” “Sherry, you’re broke.” Not too far off from my thirtieth birthday, I took a deep breath. Whoa! I had to calmly pool my resources and fast. Talk about downhill racer – from Paramount and Redford to AIP and The Mini-Skirt Mob!
Truly one of the greatest exploitation titles ever, The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968) remains an AIP landmark example of marketing. The title veritably says it all: a girl biker gang – sex and violence in one-swell swoop. The fact that more people know the name of the movie than those who have seen it is yet another nod to the shoestring company's deft advertising department. Deceptively, Sherry Jackson's character was pictured as one of the picture's gang members – shown in a plethora of kick-ass stills defiantly astride a hog. She's actually the “good girl,” not that it made a difference to anyone – least of all Sherry.
I hated that movie – what a piece of junk. It took less than a month – we shot it in one of Arizona’s less than desirable locales…not a safe place to be. You couldn’t go out at night because all the locals packed guns…Every Sunday, I’d fly - not in a chemical way (laughs)…Let me explain that. I had a student’s pilot license and I rented a small plane. That was how I entertained myself. I admit there were other compensations – I had fun hanging out with my good pals Diane [McBain] and Patty [McCormack]…[who wouldn’t?!]. And I adored Harry Dean Stanton, who was in it…although I doubt he remembers it – he smoked pot the entire time on the show. “Take a hit,” he’d say to me holding out a joint. “No, no – can’t work that way, but thanks.” So it wasn’t a complete write-off. It only cost $1.98 to make. Wore my own clothes, did my own makeup and hair… Yeah, the operative word in describing that movie is “cheap.” Cheap accommodations, cheap script, cheap food, cheap money – cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap…I’m amazed that so many people tell me how much they enjoy it. Who knew? The one exceptional career bright spot during those days was The Monitors.
A totally bizarre low budget comedy, 1969's The Monitors uses the unique premise of a futuristic society run like a high school hall monitoring system. This alone has added to its increasing popularity – a comedic narrative that seems far more at home today than over forty years ago.
That was such a fun movie for me because we made up all our lines – it was all improv. I had never done improv before and I LOVED it. I’m so much better at comedy than drama or action-drama…but I rarely got a chance to do it (I don’t include Make Room for Daddy because its uninspired humor was so formulaic). Well here was my chance and I wholeheartedly embraced it. I have a spontaneous “dare me” sense of humor so with The Monitors I was in my element. It’s become a cult movie – and I’m really glad about that. The cameraman was Vilmos Zsigmond and at the time he spoke little if no English! He did such a fantastic job on that movie. Years later, I ran into him – long after Deliverance and The Deer Hunter – and I was so shocked that he remembered me! “Sherry – how wonderful to see you!” And he hugged me. I guess a man photographing a woman is about the most intimate professional relationship there is. He knows all her secrets – what her physical strong points are, how to make her look good, what to avoid…You never forget that. On The Monitors, we were so lucky to have him. And it had a cool cast too. Larry Storch was in it – and he was great, but I remember him being such a nervous wreck during production. I don’t know if he was going through something or not…But you’d never know it when you see him in it…Terrific comedian and such a nice guy. Dean Stockwell’s brother, Guy, was the lead – and he was nice too…not the greatest actor…but OK…And Susan Oliver was very sweet. But, again, it’s the improv factor that attracted me to it – and I really had a chance to strut my stuff when doing “battle” with Avery Schreiber. Avery was legendary for chewing up the scenery – and anyone else who happened to be in the way. A formidable opponent. So I had to be on my toes – I knew he was going to do his considerable best to steal every scene he was in. Prior to our on-screen bout, I looked off-camera and could already see him raising his eyebrows at me and going into mugging mode. I quickly grabbed the prop man and said, “Hey, get me every phallic food you can lay your hands on.” So once we get started – and Avery gears into full throttle, I’m there sucking a popsicle, then munching a pickle, eating a banana, a loaf of French bread, a carrot…It was a hilarious shameless ‘anything goes’ contest – the goal being to steal those moments back from Avery. I loved it!
In contrast to the perk of virtually blowing Avery Schreiber off the screen, do you have any regrets?
If I hadn’t grown up in the business, I’d have despised it. But I didn’t have the luxury of taking stock and evaluating what was going on. Looking back, that’s probably a good thing. It can be so cruel – full of social-climbers and phoniness. But I wasn’t some wide-eyed naïve 18-year old trying to crash the Movies...I had been doing this since I was six…To me, this wasn’t a dream world, it was a job – I was supporting my family. Mercifully this spared me from that whole “casting couch” debacle. Would I love to do some big comedy project? Sure. Then again – there’s a part of me yearning to tackle a dramatic role – one suited to my age. I had always fantasized sinking my teeth into something heavy of the I’ll Cry Tomorrow ilk. But am I married to the Industry? The answer is ‘no.’ I love to ski, I love to travel (I spent five years in Bali and Malaysia; no one knew who the hell I was – and I had some of the happiest times of my life!), I love to design clothes and make jewelry. And here’s a confession – and this really comes out of left field. A long time ago, I had become fascinated with of all things – orthopedic surgery. At one point I had wanted to pursue that – specializing in helping children, but I suffer from dyslexia so, unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen. That, believe it or not, is possibly my one biggest regret.
I’m sure I speak for all movie and TV fans when I selfishly say I’ve never been more grateful for an affliction.
KEY SHERRY JACKSON TITLES DISCUSSED:
Gunn(1967) Directed by Blake Edwards. w/Craig Stevens, Laura Devon, Helen Traubel, SJ, Ed Asner, Albert Paulsen, Regis Toomey.
The Mini-Skirt Mob(1968) Directed by Maury Dexter. w/Diane McBain, Patty McCormack, SJ, Jeremy Slate, Harry Dean Stanton, Ross Hagen. DVD: MGM/UA Home Entertainment.
The Monitors(1969) Directed by Jack Shea. w/Guy Stockwell, Susan Oliver, Larry Storch, SJ, Avery Schrieber, Keenan Wynn, Shepperd Strudwick, Ed Begley.
Comments